


Out for the Night

by Kaoru_chibimaster



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-16
Updated: 2019-07-16
Packaged: 2020-06-29 07:35:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,308
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19825492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaoru_chibimaster/pseuds/Kaoru_chibimaster
Summary: A movie date in Twilight Town had sounded pretty nice.





	Out for the Night

**Author's Note:**

> I don't have a time frame for this. I just wanted to write some fluff.

They landed in Twilight Town just as afternoon shifted into evening and the sunset was at its most brilliant. Atmosphere was what they were going for. They weren’t big into candlelit dates and mellow dinners. Life had too much variety in it to limit it to the most basic of things. But occasionally life got a bit too hectic and they needed something to wind down with, and if candlelight was out, it was only because the warm glow of sunset was ten times better.

At least, that was the excuse Sora was going with.

He was sure Riku hadn’t minded it from the way he grasped Sora’s hand tightly and threaded their fingers together, even letting their arms swing between them as they walked. He seemed chipper enough, Sora noted. Head held high, a brighter example of the confidence he used to exude back home. His other hand at his side rather than hidden in his pocket. His steps surer than they’ve ever been. Sora had already been giddy about the prospect of taking some time off from everything and going on a date, but seeing Riku so comfortable with himself made the day that much sunnier.

Metaphorically, of course. In a more literal sense, it was starting to get dark enough that they could finally do what they'd come to Twilight Town for.

“C’mon,” he said, tugging at Riku's hand. “The movie's gonna start soon!”

He'd gotten an amused chuckle and a teasing grin in response, but he knew Riku was just as excited about this as he was. He had jumped at the idea when Sora had suggested it after all, even though he’d tried to play it off with a cool shrug and an even toned “been a while since I’ve seen a movie is all”. _Right_. As if he wasn’t practically bouncing on his toes like a kid in a candy shop at the idea of going to a movie. Something so simplistic and yet…

Sora understood. It’d been almost two years since they'd had the chance to do something like this. It was nice to be able to shed the title of Keyblade Wielder or Keyblade Master and just be two regular guys going on a normal date.

So, yeah, he was just as excited.

Their walk through the Tram Common had covered enough distance that it took barely a minute of long, eager strides before their legs carried them to the outdoor screen. The setup was still there, just as Sora had hoped it’d be. Considering how completely new it had been when he’d first gone back to Twilight Town, he wasn’t entirely sure he’d still find it there and that would’ve dashed their date plans fast.

Though it was an unfounded worry when he’d thought about it. He’d gotten a message from Uncle Scrooge just the day before telling him about the exciting new showing and inviting him to come see it. He’d accepted before anyone had the chance to protest.

Besides, he’d accomplished a good number of things over the past few weeks. He liked to think he’d earned this outing.

Which was why Sora was practically jumping with joy now, filling Riku in on what they could expect based on what Scrooge had told him.

“A movie about Mickey, huh?” Riku asked, tapping his chin in curiosity.

“Yeah, there are a bunch of 'em like that. But this one's in color!” Sora beamed, picking two spots in the empty row in the back. There were a few people in front of them, but they seemed to have caught the movie in the calm period after the buzz surrounding it had settled down.

Fine by Sora. He wanted the alone time.

“You’d think that wouldn’t be such a big deal,” Riku huffed, raising an eyebrow at what Sora was sure he thought was overexcitement.

And well. Yeah, maybe it was. After all, the movies back home had always been in color and were far longer.

Except, neither of them really had room to complain. It wasn’t as if they could go back home and see a movie. They couldn’t chance going back at all. Not now when the possibility of confronting their loved ones was hanging over their heads.

Now wasn’t the time to think about that, though.

“It is here, I guess.” It must’ve been, considering how all of the previous movies were in black and white. “And anyway, aren’t you excited? It’s about the _King_!”

Maybe Sora was teasing Riku a little, especially considering the way his eyes lit up ever so slightly. His close friendship with the king was as admirable as it was appreciated. Sora always thought Riku needed to open up to people more. He couldn’t push it however, so knowing that Riku made that happen himself was endearing.

Of course, it also opened the door for Sora to pick on him a bit. Which, granted, didn’t go over Riku’s head.

“Leave me alone, you jerk,” Riku snorted rather than responding to the king comment. He shoved Sora’s shoulder and Sora wheeled his arms to keep his balance, laughing all the while.

“What’s it about, anyway?” he continued, sliding onto the bench and settling in. Sora couldn’t deny that when he sat down next to Riku, he scooched over until they were pressed together, leaning his head on Riku’s shoulder and wrapping his arm his waist. Smiling when he felt Riku’s cheek rested against the top of his head and fingers wrapped around his hip.

“Apparently it’s something about a get-rich-quick scheme? Except the King swaps his brain with some sort of monster? I didn’t really get it when Scrooge explained it, so I guess we’ll see…” Sora trailed off. The premise, when it had been explained to him, seemed sort of ludicrous. Why would the King swap his brain with a monster for munny? _How_ would the King swap his brain with a monster for munny?

Although considering it was Uncle Scrooge who came up with the cartoon, he wasn’t surprised that munny was involved in the first place.

“That’s…um,” Riku started, hesitating for a moment. And Sora could clearly imagine the look on his face. Brows raised, frowning slightly, more perplexed than upset, and the mental image had him chuckling.

“It’s weird, but maybe that just makes it more fun.”

He felt more than heard the answering snort.

“If you say so.”

Their voices were quieter now as it was dim enough for the projector to turn on. The few people in front of them were silent, one of them laid across one of the benches and looking to be five seconds from falling asleep already, and the other two seeming to be another couple out on a movie date as well. They practically had the space to themselves with barely anyone else around and the few who were there not paying either of them any mind. They wouldn’t have the full experience of sitting in full darkness, wrapped up in blankets and huddled in front of a TV for an hour and then some, but this was close enough. If not better, when Sora thought about it. Back then, they hadn’t been dating.

Still, lightning flashed across the screen followed by the pitter patter of rain, and Sora settled into the familiar feeling of staying up late while watching spooky movies with Riku.

And sure enough, the King was in the movie, alongside Pluto, dressed casually and…playing video games?

This was going to be interesting.

“I get the feeling Scrooge got a little carried away when he made this,” Riku whispered in a tone that Sora was certain was deadpan, and it sent him into a fit of snickers.

“Who knows, maybe the King does play games in his free time?”

Though the whole thing had somehow escalated from video games to an anniversary for the King and Queen in Hawaii (another world, Sora assumed), to a day job that suspiciously paid the exact amount of munny the King had been looking for, to a creepy mansion on ‘Lobotomy Lane’, and Sora found himself agreeing with Riku. Maybe Scrooge got a little carried away with this one.

It’d gone from humorous to mildly disconcerting faster than Sora had expected honestly. Not that he particularly minded spooky movies in general, if anything he adored them, but it was a bit jarring to see one with the King in it. Maybe that was what had made it creepier when he thought about it.

If not a little hilarious, when he thought about it further.

“Kinda funny to see the King in this sort of situation,” Sora chuckled quietly, watching as King Mickey was cuffed to a chair that looked like it came out of a dental appointment nightmare.

“Seeing as royalty is supposed to be rich, I think I’d agree.” And Sora nudged Riku a bit, rolling his eyes at the logic he was trying to apply to what was supposed to be a silly cartoon.

“If it was that simple, there’d be no movie. Just pretend he’s not royalty here.”

Which he couldn’t have been anyway if he was getting strapped to a chair for munny.

“That won’t be hard to do.”

Riku had a point there. King Mickey would be the last person Sora would expect to declare that he hated adventure. Or to stand for the creepy doctor practically manhandling him.

Said doctor was in and of himself delightfully fitting for the genre, however. Everything from the way he first appeared, to the disturbing sharpness of his teeth, to even his voice set the tone. Like he was about to do something abysmal and then cackle gleefully to himself over it.

Which, well… He did.

He’d introduced the ‘co-worker’, pressed the button, and gleefully greeted a…very familiar face. One that now had a name to match.

“Hey, isn’t that…?” Riku started. Sora answered his question, certain they were on the same wavelength there.

“I think it is…”

Both of them glanced at each other, eyebrows raised in bemusement before shrugging it off. Scrooge always seemed to know things one wouldn’t expect him to know, so neither of them were willing to question the appearance of the sewer monster from the dream version of Traverse Town showing up in a cartoon.

Julius, he’d said.

And here they thought they’d never see him again. Though, they supposed, just because they’d run into certain things and certain people in the dream realm, that didn’t exactly mean these things and people hadn’t existed in the waking realm at some point.

“D’ya think this Dr. Frankenollie is someone Scrooge actually knows?” Sora tilted his head back to whisper. The screen was flashing brightly again as he spoke, bright blue flashing against a red background as lightning struck. It reflected off of Riku’s eyes like a light show, mesmerizing enough that Sora found himself staring even after it ended. It was only when Riku opened his mouth to speak that he finally fixed his gaze back on the screen, certain he missed something when the King’s voice was coming out of the monster.

He heard Riku snort again when the King found what was left of Dr. Frankenollie.

“If he was, he isn’t anymore.”

Sora had to clap his hand to his mouth so as to not disturb the other movie guests when he laughed. Maybe it was a little morbid but…

It was still just a cartoon.

He hoped, at least.

He wasn’t sure how he’d ask the King about that time he switched bodies with a monster. Or how it ran off with the stolen body to track down the Queen.

…Or how embarrassing it’d have been to bring up the scene where the Queen was picking out swimsuits. He knew himself well enough to know he’d blurt it out eventually.

Riku seemed to find the whole thing amusing at least. Sora couldn’t help smiling when Riku’s frame shook with laughter as the scene continued; what with Queen Minnie throwing punches like a professional.

“Never imagined I’d see the Queen fighting,” he chuckled. Sora could only shrug and laugh with him. He _had_ seen the Queen fight Heartless before, so he believed her scrappy abilities in a heartbeat.

The whole short had shifted back to humorous by this point, in fact. Both of them were trying to keep their laughter quiet as the entire thing took a turn for the ridiculous… _more_ ridiculous as Julius and the King reswapped brains before (alongside Queen Minnie) getting slammed into a billboard, and Julius was, in the end, tied up and yo-yoed by the moving billboard part.

By the last scene, the anniversary—that Sora had admittedly forgotten about by this point—in Hawaii worked out at least.

“…That was weird,” Riku finally said after a short pause as a timer on the screen ticked down to what was most likely another short. It was in black and white again, so Sora was sure it was one he’d already seen during one of his last couple of visits to Twilight Town with Donald and Goofy.

“We should tell the King—” Sora started to joke before Riku cut him off with a hand over his mouth.

“Let Scrooge deal with this. What we should do is go get ice cream like we’d planned.”

Of course. Sora _had_ promised to top their date off with ice cream after all. He wasn’t going to back out on that now.

“C’mon, let’s go before they close!” Sora grinned, his voice muffled before he pulled Riku’s hand from his mouth and laced their fingers once more. The ice cream shop likely wouldn’t be closed for a few more minutes, but the sun was particularly low now, even if not completely disappeared beneath the horizon, as was how nights in Twilight Town worked. Just dark enough for that atmosphere Sora wanted so much, and yet still light enough that they could see the cobbled path as they strolled back to the center of the Tram Common.

“So? How’d you like it?” Sora asked, listening to their slow scraping footsteps across concrete as he swung their arms back into that gentle tempo that Riku had going beforehand. He couldn’t help smiling when his palm was squeezed in response.

“Besides how weird the movie was? If that even counted as a movie…”

“ _Besides_ how weird the movie was. And everyone here calls them movies, so I guess it counts.”

“I liked it. Kinda takes me back…” Riku said wistfully. Sora knew he was thinking back to those same times he had been. The blankets and the television and the dark, spooky atmosphere. Nothing so intense that they couldn’t handle, but they were small enough to be entertained regardless.

“Same…” Sora trailed off. Those were memories more than worth keeping…and the idea of that hit him in some oddly significant sort of way. Nostalgia, maybe?

“Reminds me of when Mom would make us snacks, and we’d roll up under your favorite blanket…” Riku smirked then. “You used to hide against me whenever lightning flashed on the screen.”

“Did not!” Sora laughed, elbowing Riku lightly. He did, actually. He just wasn’t going to admit it that easily. “And anyway, _you_ used to jump at loud noises!”

Riku shrugged the jab off effortlessly.

“It’s a natural human response. Anyway, you jumped out of your skin any time some villain laughed creepily. Last I checked, that’s just being a fraidy cat.”

“Is this what we’re doing, Riku? I take you on a date and you rag on me?”

“Not ragging if it’s true.”

They both were about ready to burst into giggles despite the teasing. _Because_ of the teasing, in fact. It was familiar and comfortable, and both of them slipped into the routine easily.

“Whatever, man. You can’t deny you were huddled up against me as much as I was you. I guess I’m not the only fraidy cat, huh?” Sora grinned. Riku shot him a side glance that told him how ineffective that argument was.

“Uh huh. That was why _you_ always asked to sleep in _my_ bed and not vice versa after our scary movie nights.”

Well…

Okay, he had Sora there.

“You can’t turn this around on me now; you always said yes,” he sniffed. He doubted it was because Riku was scared every time he said yes, though. He knew now that it was because he wanted to be close to Sora. Just the thought of that, of knowing that Riku wanted to be near Sora as much as Sora wanted to be near him, was worth letting Riku have the last laugh.

Riku must’ve seen where his thought process had gone just by the look he was sure was on his face. The same dopey look Riku loved to point out even though his own eyes would soften and he’d give Sora that small, sweet smile. The one only Sora was allowed to see.

It was there even now as he spoke.

“Yeah. I guess I always did.”

“Guess we haven’t changed much, huh,” Sora said. Riku stopped walking, and Sora paused when he felt their fingers part. Turning on his heel with a question on the tip of his tongue, he was stopped short as Riku reached out to him.

It was sort of…dreamy, in a way. How he had that soft look to him now. How he was illuminated by dim sunlight, giving his tan skin a warm glow and adding a sparkle to his eyes. Tinging his hair a dusky orange. And Sora wanted to touch him too, just to make sure he was real.

So he did. His fingers hooked into the white fabric of Riku’s shirt as he allowed himself to be drawn in by just the sight of him. By even the feel of him when his skin, slightly cooled from the night air, met Sora’s.

“There are some things that’ve changed, though,” Riku murmured, brushing his knuckles against Sora’s cheek. His voice lower, his eyes lidded. Sora knew the shiver that ran down his spine was not the result of the slight night chill.

“I didn’t get to do this when we were kids,” he continued. His knuckles ran down the side of Sora’s face then, and Sora’s eyes closed almost on reaction. Just in time for his pulse to quicken in anticipation. His lips to form a puckered, waiting smile. A thumb ran over the bottom one before a lighter, softer touch brushed against them. A kiss that was barely there, somewhat timid even now when they’d done so plenty of times before. A preview of what he might expect a little later.

Instead, Riku barely pulled away before brushing Sora’s bangs out of the way and leaning in to press a chaste kiss to his forehead, his hand in the perfect position for Sora to turn to the side and reciprocate with a peck to his gloved palm. And then another to his fingers for that extra bit of skin contact. More than worth the tiny, soft smile he earned in return when he opened his eyes again.

“I guess you’re right,” Sora sighed happily. Despite what he’d said, Sora knew that it’d taken a lot of change to get where they were right there and then. A lot of change and a lot of hardship.

He couldn’t have been gladder that they had eventually reached this point. He wouldn’t trade their lives for anything.

He wrapped his fingers around Riku’s hand again and the pieces fit together once more.

“C’mon,” he jerked his head towards the shops. “We’ve got a date to finish.”

“As long as you don’t switch brains with some sewer monster to pay for it.”

Sora’s responding laugh was as loud and carefree as always.

**Author's Note:**

> (I'm sure you all know, but for those who don't: they're watching Runaway Brain)


End file.
